Aircraft equipment support

ABSTRACT

A support for aircraft seats and other equipment has a lower support link that sweeps out a lateral arc. The lower support link supports a platform that may have a conventional linear track. The linear track provides fore/aft movement substantially orthogonal to a line tangent to the center of the lateral arc. A pilot link is attached to the platform to form a parallelogram linkage that maintains the equipment platform in a rotationally fixed attitude as the lower support link sweeps out its lateral arc.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The application claims priority of U.S. provisional application No.60/908,359 filed Mar. 27, 2007.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to aircraft interior equipment and, moreparticularly, to equipment supports for seats, tables and the like.

Aircraft manufacturers often require business class passenger seats intheir aircraft that can translate in the fore/aft and lateral directionsfor occupant comfort and convenience. The tracking mechanism thatprovides this function must be robust enough to withstand varioususe/abuse loads, in-flight gust loads, and crash loads withoutmechanical failure. Conventional state of the art tracking mechanismscommonly employ two sets of linear tracks consisting of parallel tubesor rails arranged in a rectangular array, two rails for lateralmovements and the other two rails for fore/aft movement. The rails usedin these conventional orthogonal linear track systems are typicallyspaced far apart for structural stability. Because of this, it is almostalways necessary when locking the position of the seat after a move,that all four rails be locked. If not, the resultant unbalanced momentloads exerted by the occupant can create an undesirable “spongy” feel.This characteristic can be mitigated by employing increasingly heavierand larger elements (e.g., larger rails, larger bearings, etc.). Largeand heavy, however, are always undesirable in aircraft seat design wherespace and weight are at a premium.

Having to lock all four rails of conventional orthogonal linear trackarrangements also complicates the control mechanism because of the needto simultaneously lock four separate locations with, typically, asingle-hand control. Lateral motion in an orthogonal linear track designis also limited by the width of the seat and the internal real estaterequired to lock the lateral rails. To increase the lateral range ofmotion, it is necessary to increase the width of the seat to accommodatethe longer rails. Accordingly, what is needed is a support mechanism foraircraft seats and other equipment that provides orthogonal axes ofmotion without the large footprint and the weight problems associatedwith conventional orthogonal linear track designs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention solves the foregoing problem by providing asupport that moves angularly rather than linearly for at least one ofthe axes of motion. According to an illustrative embodiment, theequipment support has a sturdy lower support link that sweeps out alateral arc. The lower support link supports a platform that has aconventional linear track. The linear track provides for fore/aftmovement substantially orthogonal to a line tangent to the center of thelateral arc. A lightweight pilot link is attached to the platform toform a parallelogram linkage that maintains the platform in arotationally fixed attitude as the lower support link sweeps out itslateral arc. This gives the lateral movement a quasi-linear feel even ifthe fore/aft linear track is locked. If the fore/aft linear track isunlocked, the lateral movement can be purely linear.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The present invention will be better understood from a reading of thefollowing detailed description, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawing figures in which like references designate likeelements and, in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a first embodiment of anequipment support incorporating features of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 in its extreme leftforward position;

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 in its extreme rightforward position;

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 in its extreme leftrear position;

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 in its extreme rightrear position;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of a second embodiment of anequipment support including a rotating sub-base member; and

FIG. 7 is a third embodiment of an equipment support including a lineartrack attaching the equipment support to the airframe.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The drawing figures are intended to illustrate to the general manner ofconstruction and are not necessarily to scale. In the detaileddescription and in the drawing figures, specific illustrative examplesare shown and herein described in detail. It should be understood,however, that the drawing figures and detailed description are notintended to limit the invention to the particular form disclosed, butare merely illustrative and intended to teach one of ordinary skill howto make and/or use the invention claimed herein and for setting forththe best mode for carrying out the invention.

With reference to FIGS. 1-5, equipment support 10 comprises a basemember 12, which is adapted to be rigidly affixed to a frame 14. Frame14 is provided with a plurality of devises 16 which allow frame 14 to berigidly mounted to an aircraft floor or other surface. Frame 14 may alsobe attached to the aircraft by means of conventional floor tracking orother means and therefore is not limited to the pin and clevisattachment of the illustrative embodiment. A support link 18 is mountedto base 12 by means of a rotating joint 20 comprising a shaft 22supported by a thrust bearing 24 fitted to a corresponding recess inbase 12 so that support link 18 is free to rotate about a vertical axis26 defined by thrust bearing 24.

An equipment platform 28 is mounted to support link 18 by a means of asecond rotating joint 30 consisting of shaft 32 and a correspondingthrust bearing (not shown) fitted to a corresponding recess in equipmentplatform 28 so that equipment platform is free to rotate about a secondvertical axis 36 defined by shaft 32.

As can be determined from the foregoing, the two rotational axes aboutshafts 22 and 32 enable equipment platform 28 to sweep through an archaving a radius equal to the offset between the first vertical axis 26and the second vertical axis 36. In order to maintain equipment platform28 in a fixed rotational attitude relative to base 12, a pilot link 38is attached between equipment platform 28 and base 12 by means of athird rotating joint 40 and a fourth rotating joint 42, so that pilotlink 38 rotates about a third vertical axis 44 that is parallel to andoffset from first vertical axis 26 while equipment platform 28 rotatesabout a fourth vertical axis 46 that is offset from and parallel tosecond vertical axis 36. Because the pilot link 38 need only resistrotational loads, it can be of much lighter construction than supportlink 18. Accordingly, rotating joints 40 and 42 may be conventionallight duty ball or even sleeve bearings.

With particular reference to FIGS. 2-4, which depict the full range ofmotion of the illustrative embodiment, the length of pilot link 38(defined as the distance between third vertical axis 44 and fourthvertical axis 46) is selected to be the same as the length of supportlink 18 (defined as the distance between first vertical axis 26 andsecond vertical axis 36). The offset between first vertical axis 26 andthird vertical axis 44 is also selected to be the same as the offsetbetween second vertical axis 36 and fourth vertical axis 46. Accordinglywhen assembled, the longitudinal axis 50 of support link 18 (defined asthe line of axis through first vertical axis 26 and second vertical axis36) is parallel to the longitudinal axis 52 of pilot link 38 (defined asa line of action passing through third vertical axis 44 and fourthvertical axis 46). Similarly, the longitudinal axis 54 of base 12(defined as a line of action passing through first vertical axis 26 andthird vertical axis 44) is parallel to the effective longitudinal axis56 of equipment support 28 (defined as a line of action passing throughsecond vertical axis 36 and fourth vertical axis 46).

As can be determined from the foregoing, the geometry of the linkageensures that longitudinal axes 50 and 52 are parallel at all timesirrespective of the rotational position of support link 18 and pilotlink 38. Accordingly, the effective longitudinal axis of equipmentsupport 28, and with it support 28 itself, is always maintained in afixed rotational attitude relative to longitudinal axis 54 of base 12.Although in the illustrative embodiment the geometry of the linkage isselected to produce a parallelogram linkage, for other applications(e.g., conference tables in larger business aircraft) a trapezoidal orother unequal arm linkages may be incorporated to produce predeterminedangular and/or translational motion of equipment platform 28 as afunction of lateral movement without departing from the scope of thepresent invention.

As can be determined from the foregoing, support link 18 and pilot link38 cooperate to permit equipment platform 28 to move left and rightrelative to base 12 through an arc that approximates the left to rightmovement enabled by much heavier and more complex linear seat tracks ofthe prior art. To provide fore and aft movement, equipment platform 28is provided with a plurality of rollers 58 that engage correspondingtracks 60 formed in seat frame 62. Because seat frame 62 is necessarilylonger than it is wide, there is sufficient room within the confines ofseat frame 62 to incorporate full fore/aft movement without track 60 orrollers 58 extending beyond the footprint of the seat frame itself. Thecombination, however, of the linear track comprising rollers 58 andtrack 60 with the support linkage comprising support link 18 and pilotlink 38 considerably simplifies the release mechanism. This is becausethe lateral movement of equipment platform 28 may be controlled bylocking support link 18 rotationally, for example by means of a pinengaging one of a plurality of holes 66 formed in metering plate 68attached to base 12 or by other means that lock the single support link18 rotationally, rather than locking two parallel rails simultaneouslyas in the prior art.

With Reference now to FIG. 6, the ability of seat frame 62 to swivel maybe provided by substitution of a sub-base 612 in place of the rigidlymounted base 12 of the embodiment of FIG. 1. As with base 12, sub-base612 includes a thrust bearing 24 for supporting support link 18 as wellas an attachment point for third rotating joint 40 of pivot link 38.Additionally, however, the lower surface of sub-base 612 includes athrust bearing (not shown) coaxial with thrust bearing 24. The thrustbearing of sub-base 612 rides on the upper surface 614 of frame 14 thusenabling the entirety of equipment support 10 to rotate as a unit aboutframe 14. A distinct advantage of this arrangement is the fore/aft andlateral adjustment axes of equipment support 10 rotate with seat frame62 rather than remaining fixed with respect to the floor of theaircraft. This allows for much more intuitive movement of the seat frameby the user than would otherwise be possible. Once adjusted, therotational movement of sub-base 612 may be locked by moving lock pin 615through guide hole 616 to engage one of a plurality of holes 618 inmetering plate 620 attached to frame 14.

Although certain illustrative embodiments and methods have beendisclosed herein, it will be apparent from the foregoing disclosure tothose skilled in the art that variations and modifications of suchembodiments and methods may be made without departing from the spiritand scope of the invention. For example, although the illustrativeembodiments of FIGS. 1-6 contemplate an equipment support in which thelinear track is supported by a rotating support link (track over pivot),as shown in FIG. 7 an embodiment in which the base 712 supporting thesupport link is itself mounted on a linear track 760 (pivot over track)is considered within the scope of the present invention. Accordingly, itis intended that the invention shall be limited only to the extentrequired by the appended claims and the rules and principles ofapplicable law.

1. An equipment support for securing aircraft interior equipment to anairframe comprising: a base adapted to be attached to the airframe, saidbase having an upper portion and a lower portion; a lower support linkrotationally attached to the upper portion of said base, said lowersupport link having a fixed end and a free end, said fixed end of saidlower support link comprising a first rotating joint defining a firstaxis of rotation about said base, said free end of said lower linkhaving a second rotating joint thereon defining a second axis ofrotation parallel to and offset from said first axis of rotation, saidlower support link having a longitudinal axis passing through said firstand second axes of rotation; a pilot link, said pilot link having afixed end and a free end, said fixed end of said pilot link comprising athird rotating joint defining a third axis of rotation relative to saidbase, said third axis of rotation being parallel to and offset from saidfirst axis of rotation, said free end of said pilot link having a fourthrotating joint thereon defining a fourth axis of rotation, said pilotlink having a second longitudinal axis passing through said third andfourth axes of rotation; an equipment platform, said equipment platformrotationally attached to said lower support link at said second rotatingjoint and to said pilot link at said fourth rotating joint to form afour bar linkage for defining a rotational attitude of said equipmentplatform as said lower support link rotates about said first axis ofrotation; a linear track attached to said equipment platform; and anaircraft interior equipment member attached to said linear track;wherein said lower support link and said pilot link cooperate to form aparallelogram linkage, whereby said equipment platform is maintained ina rotationally fixed attitude as said lower support link rotates aboutsaid first axis of rotation.
 2. The equipment support of claim 1,further comprising: a first rotation lock coupled to said lower supportlink, said first rotation lock being moveable from a disengaged positionto an engaged position for engaging said base to prevent rotation ofsaid lower support link about said base.
 3. The equipment support ofclaim 1, wherein: said base further comprises a bearing member forrotationally attaching said base to said airframe, said bearing memberhaving a fifth axis of rotation parallel to said first axis of rotationto enable said equipment support to rotate about said fifth axis ofrotation.
 4. An equipment support for securing aircraft interiorequipment to an airframe comprising: a base attached to the airframe,said base having an upper portion and a lower portion; a lower supportlink rotationally attached to the upper portion of said base, said lowersupport link having a fixed end and a free end, said fixed end of saidlower support link comprising a first rotating joint defining a firstaxis of rotation about said base, said free end of said lower linkhaving a second rotating joint thereon defining a second axis ofrotation parallel to and offset from said first axis of rotation, saidlower support link having a longitudinal axis passing through said firstand second axes of rotation; a pilot link, said pilot link having afixed end and a free end, said fixed end of said pilot link comprising athird rotating joint defining a third axis of rotation relative to saidbase, said third axis of rotation being parallel to and offset from saidfirst axis of rotation, said free end of said pilot link having a fourthrotating joint thereon defining a fourth axis of rotation, said pilotlink having a second longitudinal axis passing through said third andfourth axes of rotation; an equipment platform, said equipment platformrotationally attached to said lower support link at said second rotatingjoint and to said pilot link at said fourth rotating joint to form afour bar linkage for defining a rotational attitude of said equipmentplatform as said lower support link rotates about said first axis ofrotation; wherein said pilot link is of substantially lighterconstruction than said lower support link, whereby said pilot linksupports a negligible portion of the load of said aircraft interiorequipment.